NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program receipts for March increased nearly 10 percent compared to the previous year’s March, according to Morris H. Chapman, president and chief executive officer of the SBC Executive Committee.
For the month of March 1998, a total of $12,731,017 was received, compared to the same month of 1997 of $11,599,359, an increase of $1,131,658 or 9.76 percent.
For the first six months of the SBC fiscal year, October through March, CP receipts total $79,337,984 compared to the same time period last year of $76,519,392, an increase of $2,818,591 or 3.68 percent.
Designated gifts for March also surpassed that month a year ago: $17,986,917 compared to $17,263,757, an increase of $723,160 or 4.19 percent. For the fiscal year, $95,286,159 in designated gifts have been received compared to $87,897,962 a year ago, an increase of $7,388,197 or 8.41 percent.
For the SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget, the March CP receipts surpassed the budget requirement by more than 3 percent. The monthly budget requirement is $12,348,756; thus the March receipts surpassed the goal by $382,261 or 3.1 percent. For the halfway point in the fiscal year, the budget requirement of $74,092,538 has been surpassed by $5,245,445 or 7.08 percent.
The SBC Cooperative Program total includes receipts from individuals, churches, state conventions and fellowships for distribution according to the 1997-98 Cooperative Program Allocation Budget.
The Cooperative Program is Southern Baptists’ method of supporting missions and ministry efforts of state and regional conventions and the Southern Baptist Convention. Designated contributions include the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American missions, world hunger and other special gifts.
State and regional conventions retain a percentage of Cooperative Program contributions they receive from the churches to support work in their areas and send the remaining funds to the Executive Committee for national and international ministries. The percentage of distribution is at the discretion of each state or regional convention.
